Method of car construction



Dec. 6, 1938.

Zeg a@ ATTORNEY DGO 6, 1938- T. G. sHlPLEY METHOD 0F CAR CONSTRUCTIONFiled March 6, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Iulow Pololahln o Palo NM.

70H0?? G. Shipley AT1-ORN@ o.. o ca .oo o

Dec. 6, 1938. T. G. sHlPLEY METHOD 0F CAR CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed March 6, 1957 ATTORN EY ooaooo ooeeoo0aeoooooaooeoooeeo Pete-medDee'. e, 193s Ma'rnon or can coNsraucrroN 'reiben a. shipley, sauna,Mo., enigmi i American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New Jersey Application March 6, 1937, Serial N0. 129,339

3 Claims. (Cl. 29--1640 'I'his invention relates to improvements in theprocess of erecting car bodies and particularly the bodies of freight orpassenger cars.

The car bodies are preferably made of mate- 5 rial having greatstrengthwhich permits, for a given strength, the use of thinner materialthan heretofore used. The use of this thinner material causes greatdiiiiculty in handling. under known processes, due to the tendency todevelop w unsightly buckles caused by unequal stresses in the structure.It is an object, therefore, of the invention to provide a suitable workpositioning support upon which the ycar side may be assembled in arigid. unstressed condition.

l5 Another object of the invention is the provision of a suitable workpositioning support upon which the car side may be rigidly assembled andprepared for riveting.

A further object of the invention is the provi- 2o sion of a suitablework positioning support upon which a car side may be rigidly assembled,fully prepared for the driving oi' all rivets, and then transportedwithout distortion to a machine riveter where all rivets are drivenprior to attach- 25 ment of the car side on the skeleton underframe.

A still further object of the invention is the provision oi' a processwherein all true fitting bolts are eliminated and the parts aretack-welded together permitting the driving of all rivets 30 without'interruption by the machine riveter.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from a study of the following description andaccompanying drawings, in which:

35 Figure 1 is a plan view of approximately one halfv of a car sideresting on the assembly support prior to application of the side sheets:

Fig. 2 is a plan View of approximately the other half of the car sideresting on the work position- 40 ing support but with the side sheetsapplied and the tack-welding completed:

Figs. 3 and 4 are elevational views of the side shown in Figs. 1 and 2and taken together show the complete work positioning support with the45 full car side resting thereon;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged interior view of a portion of the carside removedfrom the work positioning ssuppcrt and ready for riveting;

Fig. 6 is an .enlarged exterior view of a portion of the car side afterbeing riveted and ready for application to the skeleton underi'rame;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged view taken on line 1--1 of Fig. 2 and showing theside sheets held in place by the tack-weld but with the drift pin stillin place. and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8 4, Fig. 2. Referring now to thedrawings in detail, it is seen that the car side is of conventionalstructural design being composed of side sill A. plate B.

posts C and sheets D. The side sill as shown is of angle formationhaving all necessary rivet holes punched therein and with channel formunderframe connectors 2 and I fastened thereto as well as channel formdoor opening stiffener 8. The side sill is prepared as described priorto being 10 brought to the assembly positioning support which consistsof longitudinal rails 8 supported on transverse channels i0 spanning apit I2. The longitudinal andvtransverse members are so located withrespect to the pit to permit easy access il to all parts of the frame byworkmen in the pit. It is, of course, obvious that the work positioningsupport may be located on trestles above a comparatively smooth floorpermitting the workmen lto operate on the frame as before but withoutthe necessity of constructing a pit.

A door post is indicated in the drawings at 26 and a wall plate D issecured thereto as by rivets 2l (Figs. 2 ande) prior to assembly of theside construction. This particular wall plate is indicated-at 24. Inassembling the frame, the door post 2l, with its attached wall plate D,is laid on the longitudinal rails of the work positioningsupport inapproximately the proper position, and the side posts C are then laid onthe longitudinal 3c rails I in their approximate locations, the sideposts C having been previously punched. Fillers. or spacers i3. arearranged on the anges it oi the door posts 26 and the side posts C andthen the side plate B is arranged in position across the post 28 and theposts C, while the side sill is similarly arranged on the opposite endportions of said posts. The several posts and the sicle plate and sidesill are then connected by means of suitable fasteners such as the boltsiii. The prepared side sheets, which have body portions il and punchededge portions 20, with. at least one edge portion offset as at 22 tooverlap the adjacent side sheet, are then laid upon the bolted framemuch as shingles would be arranged; the sheet D adjacent the sheet 2lbeing first arranged and so on to the end of the frame. In applying thesheets Il it will be apparent that the upper edge portions il will beslid under the lower flange of the side plate and into abutment with thespacers i3, as shown clearly in Fig. 8. With the several side sheets inposition, bolts 30 are passed through the side plate and each sheet andtightened, thus movably securing each sheet to the frame. Bolts 3l arealso inserted for secur- 66 ing the door posts in position, and driftpins 36 are then driven in place to draw the sheets to their properposition and to hold them in contact with each other and with therespective posts, following which tack-welds 38 are made from beneath toconnect the side sill with the side sheets and tack-welds 40 are made,from beneath, to connect the side plate with the several side sheets.The side sheets are additionally tackwelded to the posts at a suitablenumber of places, as shown at 42. In making these welds it has beenfound advisable for a workman to stand on the sheets and use a heavybar, or the like, substantially above the point at which the weld isbeing made in order to insure proper contact of the parts. The frame isnow in the condition illustrated in Fig. 2.

All drift pins are now removed as are also the few fitting bolts and allholes for the riveting of the sheets are reamed if necessary by theusual portable reamer leaving the frame in the condition shown in Fig.5. The frame is then removed from the work positioning support andtransported to the deep gap machine riveter (not shown) which drives allremaining rivets leaving the frame in the finished form as indicated byFig. 6.

The various steps in assembly have been described as though each werecompleted before the next was started, but such is not necessary as itis possible for the Welders to be working on one end of the frame beforethe fitters have finished applying the sheets at the other end of theframe. After the fitters have finished at one end' they can immediatelystart removing the drift pins and bolts at the other end permitting thereamers to follow the Welders very closely. It is thus seen that a smallgroup of men may quickly assemble a side frame in condition for rapidmachine riveting without any interruptions and also that due to therigidity occasioned by the tack-welding and the freedom from strainingpermitted by Welding and teaming, the side sheets will remain flat andnot show unsightly buckles heretofore present in all light gauge metalstructures.

The method just described is of prime importance where thin sheets ofhigh tensile strength are used but it is also applicable to ordinarysheets and it is to be understood that the invention is to be limitedonly by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The herein described process of assembling car sides which comprisesarranging a side sill, side plate and side posts in definite relativerelation on a work positioning support, temporarily connecting the sidesill and side plate to the posts to form a skeleton frame, arrangingside sheets in position on said skeleton frame, securing the side sheetsto the side sill, side plate and posts by tack welding to form asemi-rigid side while holding the side sheets firmly in position,removing the temporary fastenings, removing the semi-rigid side from thework positioning support, and finally rigidly connecting the sidesheets, posts, side sill and side plate together.

2. The herein described process of assembling car sides which comprisespunching all rivet holes in the side sill, side plate, side posts andside sheets, arranging the prepared side sill, side plates and sideposts on a work positioning support, bolting said side sill and sideplate to the posts to form a skeleton frame, arranging the prepared sidesheets in position upon said skeleton frame, applying drift pins to holdthe side sheets in position, securing the side sheets to the side sill,plate and posts by tack welding to form a semi-rigid side, removing thedrift pins and bolts, reaming all rivet holes, removing the semirigidside from the work positioning support, and finally rigidly connectingthe side sheets, posts, side sill and side plate together.

3. The herein described process of assembling car sides having dooropenings therein bounded by door posts which comprises punching allrivet holes in the side sill, side plate, side posts and side sheets,arranging the prepared side sill, side plate and side posts in adefinite relative relation on a work positioning support and in ahorizontal position, bolting said side sill and side plate to certainfof the posts to form a skeleton frame, riveting each of the door poststo a side sheet to form a rigid unit, bolting the door post unit to theskeleton frame, arranging the remaining prepared side sheets in positionon said skeleton frame, applying drift pins to hold the side sheets inposition, securing the side sheets to the side sill, side plate andposts by tack welding to form a semi-rigid side, removing the drift pinsand bolts, reaming all remaining rivet holes, and finally rigidlyriveting the assembled parts tosether.

TOLBO'IT G. SHIPLEY.

